In the construction and repair of concrete bridge decks, it is common to position a plurality of corrugated sheet steel panels in an overlapping manner on steel support beams for the deck to provide a permanent base form, and the panels may have various corrugated cross-sectional configurations. A wood or steel form is installed around the periphera of the assembled deck panels, and the steel peripheral forms may be attached to the steel deck panels to remain as permanent forms with the deck panels. Upper and lower layers or grids of reinforced steel rods or rebars are positioned at predetermined levels above the steel deck panels, and concrete is poured onto the deck panels up to the top level of the peripheral forms.
The problem of corrosion of the steel deck panels and the steel reinforcing rods or rebars within the concrete over a period of years is well known. Such corrosion is caused by atmospheric pollutants, road salt, vehicle emissions, acid rain and other pollutants. Over a period of years, the concrete decks deteriorate due to water seeping through pores and cracks within the concrete and contacting the steel reinforcement rods, causing them to corrode. Eventually, the support strength of the steel and concrete deck significantly reduces, thus requiring either reconstruction or replacement of the bridge deck. In order to avoid corrosion of the corrugated steel deck panels, it is known to use precast concrete panels which have embedded reinforcement, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,152. The precast concrete deck panels may also form parallel spaced concrete beams which may be prestressed or post-tensioned with reinforcing cables.